Judge orders probation, community service for Wofford College student after 2012 assault

Thursday

Sep 5, 2013 at 10:16 PM

A Wofford College student pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and battery Thursday after police say he choked a Spartanburg Methodist College student until she became unconscious last year.

BY LYNNE P. SHACKLEFORDlynne.shackleford@shj.com

A Wofford College student pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and battery Thursday after police say he choked a Spartanburg Methodist College student until she became unconscious last year.Circuit Court Judge Roger Couch sentenced Jacob Nathaniel Condra, 19, to up to three years in prison under the state's Youthful Offender Act suspended to the time he served in jail and three years probation. Couch also ordered 80 hours of community service and random drug and alcohol testing. In addition, Couch also ordered no contact with the victim.Assistant Solicitor Abel Gray said the incident occurred about midnight on Aug. 26, 2012 at the Powell Mill Road suite apartment of the victim and Condra's former girlfriend. Condra was at the apartment visiting his girlfriend when at some point, he went into the victim's room and said the "party is in here" and grabbed the victim from behind and put her in a reverse choke hold, Gray told Couch during the hearing.The victim couldn't breathe or speak and her eyes rolled back into her head before she dropped to the floor and her head hit a wall, Gray said. When she regained consciousness, the victim didn't remember the incident and friends took her to the emergency room where doctors said she suffered a mild concussion, Gray said. Condra was an incoming freshman at Wofford at the time and was suspended from the baseball team for a year and lost his $20,000 baseball scholarship as a result of the charge, his attorney, Shawn Campbell, told the judge.Campbell said his client made a "colossally stupid" decision and although he acted recklessly, Condra didn't intend to hurt the victim."There was no malice, but it was absolutely reckless behavior," Campbell said. Condra has since completed anger management classes, Campbell said.The victim, who appeared in court, tearfully told Couch that she was a student at Spartanburg Methodist College, but was forced to withdraw six weeks later as a result of the incident.The victim said she suffered from migraines, insomnia and memory loss as a result of the incident. She has since returned to her home in another part of the state and said her recovery has been "slow and painful."